Monarchy
by Era Yachi
Summary: An unexpected event causes Teyla to become stranded as the new primary Wraith Queen. Her team disagrees with this. With Todd as her sole questionable ally, she soon realizes what becoming a Queen truly means. Spin-off 'what if' story from The Queen.
1. Sacrifice

_**Monarchy**_

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><p><strong>Summary<strong>: Posing as the ruler of Todd's Hive had worked too well. Unexpected chaos causes Teyla to become stranded as the Queen. With Todd as her sole ally, she will learn what it means to be Queen, and to _become _Queen.

**AN:** So I've been reading the Stargate Atlantis books, Homecoming and The Lost, which are the sequels to the SGA series. I love them. Also, it makes me want to return to an idea that has been hounding me since I finished 'Rules of War' ages ago. A 'what if' story. What if Teyla had to become Queen a little more permanently?

I love the fact that the authors finally gave us an inside look at the Wraith, including how they choose their names and how they interact. I don't like the Wraith, but I like Todd. So thus, this is a Todd & Teyla driven story. With a little frantic Sheppard's team thrown in.

So here's a strange tale of what might have happened, if 'The Queen' mission had not gone as well as planned.

Oh, and a small, barely mentionable segment of this first chapter might be a word-by-word play of the episode's scripting, but fear not. It has to be exact in every way, right until the point it changes. It definitely changes. Quite explosively.

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><p><em>Chapter One: Sacrifice<em>

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><p>A temporary situation, at best. That is what this was meant to be.<p>

Dr. Keller's mournful expression was the first of many she had been forced to look upon, while Teyla found herself cosmetically changed to appear as a Wraith Queen. The longer she spent aboard this Hive ship, the longer she had to think about the events that had occurred to bring her here. No one _looked_ at her while she appeared this way; her teammates—John, she swallowed, remembering—looked at her but didn't see Teyla Emmagen, just a creature with whom they had a shaky and fleeting alliance. Everyone acted as though she had gone away on some mission far away, even long before she had departed, waiting patiently for her to return when she was still there.

Which she could not.

The Wraith on board this new Hive ship also saw through her, not past her disguise but through her true self, the woman she was beneath. They too, were waiting. They were waiting for her to disappear, waiting for their own Queen to return to them.

Which she could not.

Only Todd seemed to look upon her and see both Teyla, the human Athosian woman, and at least the facade of a Wraith Queen. In his calculating mind, he was well aware that his own Queen would never return and that this unorthodox replacement would be his Hive's salvation. As such, he withheld nothing from her as he did before, she could access his thoughts and his mind completely. This she did not do despite his willingness. Even though one might open the barbed gates to what Earth people called Hell, that did not mean it was proper to cross through them into the horrors beyond.

None of this was of any use to her, however. She had been trapped on Hive ships before, but never like this. Escaping from a prison cell on the ship had become a standard expectation of being captured alive by Wraith. Sitting on the throne of the Queen provided no such obvious escape route. It was a trap enforced by her own position; they were stranded. She was stranded. He she not been so careless, she would already be home on Atlantis.

Careless.

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><p><em>Six hours prior...<em>

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><p>John, Rodney and Ronon were on board the ship, as captives. Taken while trying to save her. Despite everything they had worked for until now, she knew their safety preceded her current mission. She left them in the cell with the promise they were safe, half-convinced of the truth, because she was not even sure she was safe from the Wraith on this ship, and she was their revered Queen.<p>

Returning to her—the Queen's—chambers, Teyla felt once more the uncomfortable stirring in her mind, a sensation she knew already was Todd attempting to contact her by Wraith sense. It would not work. She did not bother to quieten the flare of anger she sent chasing after that whisper of a thought, and she was certain she could hear his mocking chuckle once it vanished. She was so retreated into herself, she did not sense the Wraith commander of the ship approach her from behind.

"My Queen!" she heard his sneering voice. She did not allow herself to startle, but whirled on him in a furious manner that was not feigned.

Crush was the name of the commander, his mind was far weaker than any queen's she had encountered and it was not hard to steal that information. Crush was fearsome, perhaps, in the eyes of other Wraith but to Teyla, he was but an annoyance and a threat to her team's safety.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped viciously. "Who authorized you to be in my quarters?"

"I let myself in," said Crush, his manner and his mind both seething a resentment for her that had Teyla pushing against it with more than exceptional emotional will. "I needed to speak to you in private."

"I do not wish to speak right now. Come back later!" she barked, and turned to leave.

"I am afraid I cannot—"

"I am your Queen! You will do as I—"

"You are not my Queen!" he stated, piercing yellow eyes filled with force and hatred.

Every nerve of her body experienced what John may have called 'the chills', but she was very careful to hide this reaction both outwardly and within. "How dare you speak to me this way? Remove yourself from my sight immediately!"

"I saw you speaking to the prisoners from Atlantis."

"And?" sneered the 'Queen'. "I may not interrogate prisoners upon my own ship?"

"Oh, you may. Thought it is odd that you refer to them as prisoners." He stepped no closer, but it was as though the Wraith commander were closing in upon her as doubt and fear bubbled somewhere deep inside Teyla. "I heard what you said to them. You knew them, and they knew you. I had to ask myself," he added with a heat-filled pause. "How is such a thing possible?"

Before Teyla could force a reply worthy of her fearlessness, he went on, "I suspected you, right from the moment you set foot upon my ship. And against my better judgment, I allowed you to remain on board while you committed treachery after treachery!" Crush drew his blade and swung it at her, and this was the first time she had seen a Wraith warrior's arm tremble with overwhelming emotion.

Her Wraith DNA choked her from within. Pain, denial, hatred, anger, violence, defiance and everything this commander felt for the loss of his late Queen and the betrayal of his new one bore down on her. The edge of the blade seemed to be an extension of this bloodthirsty reaction. This was not normal. She had not reached out to touch his mind, how could he-

"It was my duty to defend this ship," he lamented with the flames of abhorrence lashing her mind. "And I failed."

Her body fought for her, in replacement of her quick thinking and battle readiness. A weak defense was all she had to offer under this paralyzing emotional attack, but her senses cleared like water evaporating on a heated stone. She was being grappled by Crush, sharpened blade across her throat. "I'm afraid your reign is over, my Queen!"

The blue bolts that slammed into the back of the ship's commander also broke the storm that entrapped her, and Teyla rolled backwards, onto her feet. Crush collapsed to the ground with a strangled gasp.

Like a ghost, Todd appeared from the entrance to the Queen's chambers, crossed the room in six gliding strides and knelt next to her attacker. With a sickening 'crack', he twisted the other commander's head, breaking his neck. Teyla watched him with carefully guarded thoughts, as he rose to his feet again.

"He will not be bothering you any further," Todd informed her in a way perhaps too matter-of-fact.

She hissed a short reply, still coming out of the cloudy, mental storm but feeling blissfully vindicated of the horrible emotions. "Thank you—"

The Hive ship heaved under their feet and shook tremendously, as the dull roar of several explosions pounded down on the half-organic hull above. Teyla nearly lost her balance but saved hereslf by gracefully leaping to the nearest wall for support. "What is happening?" she demanded.

As the tremor subsided, Todd appeared to be listening intently, fervently to the ship all around him. He bared his teeth in irritation. "A Hive ship has dropped out of hyperspace and is firing upon us."

"How is that possible?" she hissed, confronting him with clenched fists. "No other ships should know our location!"

"Crush must have contacted one of the allies of the Hive we—" he said, with a suspicious note, "-just recently destroyed for poaching on our feeding grounds."

"And? We must return fire, destroy them as well before they have the chance to—"

"Do you think us fools, my Queen?" he interrupted with yet more savage mockery. "This Hive has not regenerated from the last battle and our energy stores are severely depleted. This battle will one of the shorter breed. There is not much time before we will be forced to escape into hyperspace."

There was a connotation there that did not elude her. She did not waste another breath in this pointless exchange; instead, she broke into a sprint that carried her through the corridors of the ship in a flash. Adrenaline pushed her speed to its limits, and with great fortune she did not run into any of the ship's guards who might think it odd that their Queen was madly running towards the prison cells.

Sheppard and the rest of her team were waiting in the cell with looks of expectation. "See, Rodney? Like I said, Teyla always comes bearing good news," Colonel Sheppard said, with his hands on the hard, organic webbing that served as the door. "Please tell me that that's the Daedalus out there, trying to blow us all up."

"If only that were the truth," Teyla said hurriedly, finding it somehow hard to breath through the surgical altercations of her fact and her body felt...heavier somehow. "A hostile Hive ship is attacking us. The Wraith commander found out what we were planning and alerted them. You must go now, escape with the Jumper and get to safety."

"All right, check out time, cool. Just let us out, and lead the way," said John.

"No," she shook her head, swallowing. It was almost too difficult to have to do this. Frightening. All they had worked for could not simply end this way; she would salvage it. "I cannot go with you. If I were to escape now, the Wraith on this ship would brand me as weak and cowardly. If we are to have a chance at using Dr. Keller's treatment, I will have to remain here. A victory against a second Hive ship—"

"You're not staying," Sheppard growled with a very annoyed edge. "Screw the mission; we're in over our heads here, Teyla. You're coming with us."

"When I have solidified my presence on this ship, I will send word. You will find me, and I will return to Atlantis," she swore, placing a clawed hand on the panel to open the cell door. As she did, she hastily retreated towards the corridor behind her.

Ronon came stalking towards he, hand on his pistol—to stun her if necessary, no doubt—and Rodney took a baby step forward, opening his mouth. "Teyla-"

Her friend's plaintive, almost pleading voice cut her like a knife, but she did not hesitate to press another wall control. This time, a steely web closed her end of the chamber off from her team, blocking the Satedan from getting any closer. "Watch for my message," she told them. "We will all be on Atlantis again. I promise."

Her heart was not surprised as she turned to fly down the twisted, ghastly hallways, to hear Ronon's pistol streaking and hissing behind her. The red stun bolt missed her fleeing body narrowly, but his bellow could not be outrun. It was frustrated and angry, and she apologized silently to her friends for having made this choice without their blessing. Any other mission would have been worth abandoning, but she could not simply give upon on this slim chance of a future free of culling.

She had not quite made it to the control room, spotting the drone guards outside the door mere seconds before the universe shattered.

Another sensation ripped through her mind. Painfully. Uncontrolled and unexpected. All at once she knew its source and the meaning behind it. Somewhere close by, she had sensed more Wraith arriving, thousands more, screaming defiance in a long, powerful arc through cold space.

Then silenced. Sorrowful silence. The only remaining Wraith were the ones nearby, inside the groaning innards of the half-living ship. All that remained was the stabbing shock the spiked through her mind, when it became apparent that the Hive had jumped to hyperspace. That was not the dread she felt, however, for it was not _her_ unhappiness or her bewilderment.

It belonged to Todd.

* * *

><p><em>Present<em>

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><p>Sacrifice. Wraith were known to willingly give their lives when sacrifice was demanded, turning Darts into missiles and damaged cruisers into bombs.<p>

This was the first time she had known for a Wraith Hive ship to sacrifice itself in the near futile attempt to shield another from impending destruction. Todd's ship had done this, screaming like a behemoth from a hyperspace windows seconds before a final barrage of weapons' fire would have ripped the Primary's Hive into pieces. The shots had ripped into the more vulnerable underbelly of the ship, creating secondary detonations and finally, the hyperdrive itself erupted. Todd's Hive had blossomed into an inferno while the Primary ship slipped into hyperspace to escape.

Hyperspace lasted twelve minutes. Then the ship came to a shuddering halt and came out of the jump, spinning out of control. Teyla had remained in the control room with the scientists, snarling at them and berating their incompetence as she should. It was her _right_ as Queen to blame whomever she saw fit. They were stranded, however, and days—not hours—would pass before the necessary repairs were complete to enable hyperspace travel once more.

Days. Days upon a Hive Ship, where she would require things no Wraith needed to survive. Where she would rule in spite of her overwhelming fear that she would fail to retain her secret. Days was too long, too long for her to live without risking exposing her true, human nature.

Which was the least of her problems. She was not Wraith. In many ways she was quite content to know that another Hive Ship had been eliminated. Todd's Hive had not defiantly shielded the Primary because of _her_, but for their commander's sake. Whether it was an act of blind loyalty, mere logic, or simply a mistake in navigation, Todd's ship was gone. He was all that remained of Atlantis' Wraith 'allies'. Like it or not, they were both prisoners on the edge of being discovered and executed most gruesomely.

Like it or not, they were quite alone within the heart of an enemy nest. For the next six days, she was not Teyla Emmagen, but Steelflower, a Queen who's loyal subjects had sacrificed themselves to ensure the continued preservation of their superior alliance. This was what the Wraith on board were concerned with.

From her throne, she had taken to realize that she was suddenly with company. It was dark in the royal audience chamber, and she had not the Wraith eyes to pierce the blackness. As though formed of the shadow itself, Todd stood in the half-light, gazing at her quietly. Old, yellow eyes under a thin, scraggly veil of silvery-white hair looked at Teyla intently, silently.

They searched for the Athosian warrior behind the artificial mask, and did not find any trace of her presence. Instead, they saw the steely, cold petals of a flower that could slit the throats of a thousand Wraith. And then a thousand more.

The old Wraith drew in a sharp hiss through his and jerked his head back in unwarranted surprise. Then, his instinctual desire to drain the life out of every human who might take pleasure in the loss of his brothers took hold of him.

He lunged at the false Queen with his feeding palm extended. He was going to devour her contemptual glare and thirsted for the moment her eyes shriveled into dust.


	2. Silence

**_Monarchy_**

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> This chapter's been almost-finished for a long time. Now it's all-finished. By the way, any Wraith cultural references and/or names I use in this chapter are actually canon. I'm going to be using as much as I can from what little we've learned from the Sixth Season books. Not 'cause I'm not creative or anything, but...yeah. Um. Who are you again?

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><p><em>Chapter Two: Silence<em>

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><p>Their eyes locked intently, roiling anger piercing a cool, calm lake of contempt. Todd's feeding hand trembled inches from Teyla's collar, barely restrained by its owner. He had his other hand on the back of the throne, snarling down at her.<p>

"Clearly, you are well aware that killing me means you will die, surely as I," she said to him fearlessly. "You must either tell them about our plan to deceive them from the beginning, or admit to traitorously murdering their new Queen. Which offense do you believe they would consider the lesser evil?"

With a bark of frustration, the old commander pushed away and turned his back on her. He curled his hand into a calculated fist. "I am not going to simply stand by and witness you relish the deaths of my brethren!" he snapped.

"Why would I be happy that your Hive ship was destroyed?" she demanded, irritation lacing her voice.

This surprised him. Greatly. He did not hide his dubious astonishment as her turned his face back to the false queen sitting upon a dead queen's throne. "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I say, and do not ask me to repeat myself, for I do _not_ take kindly to such pointlessness," she hissed through her teeth.

Unperturbed, he glanced her over with reproachful yellow eyes. "You would mourn the loss of Wraith lives?"

"Every Wraith who dies means more innocent people are spared, _this_ I will not deny I find comforting. But if you are suggesting that I revel in the deaths of thousands of potential allies simply out of spite for your kind, then you are a fool. Did I not have the chance to escape with my team and return to Atlantis?"

After a long pause, he said, "Yes, you did."

"And did I not choose instead to return here, to continue this charade despite knowing the risks involved?"

"Indeed," he replied slowly.

"Then tell me if you _still_ doubt my intention to carry through with the mission as we agreed. If that is not convincing enough, then I may as well take my leave now."

Chilling silence filled the queen's chamber and he finally nodded his head. "That will not be necessary. I no longer have a Hive ship where I can return to lick my wounds in peace, or postulate my Queen's existence from my kind. For now, we must...extend our arrangement."

She stared at him coolly.

"But," he went on more forcefully. "To be a Queen for a day is one matter. Queen for two days another. If you are to be Wraith, you must begin to think like Wraith. You must act like Wraith. Most importantly, you must rule over all matters a Wraith Queen is expected to rule. There is much you must learn that I doubt you will understand. Now, let us start at the beginning!"

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><p>The trip back to Atlantis had been very quiet.<p>

Since leaving the Hive ship, having no choice but to escape before they were captured a second time, Sheppard had been unable to get rid of the bad taste in his mouth. His teeth ached. His head was throbbing. Everything had pretty much gone to hell, and their attempt to rescue their missing teammate had only ended in expensive repairs to Caldwell's ship and the loss of Todd's 'friendly' Wraith allies.

Not to mention Teyla.

The _Daedalus _had beamed them to the nearest planet with a Stargate, and they had 'gated back to Atlantis. It wasn't normal procedure, to make the ship go hours out of its way just to send them home, but the circumstances were special. They had to get back to the city and debrief, start looking for leads, plan a rescue, that sort of thing.

Blue puddle. Disorientation. Atlantis.

"Tell me what you've got, Doc," said Sheppard, moments after stepping out of the event horizon into the Gate room. Zelenka, his go-to guy since they'd established a connection back on the _Daedalus_, was already pacing towards him.

"I'm sorry, Colonel, but the long-range scanners are still not picking up Todd's sub-space transmitter. They could be out of range, but-"

"They weren't out of range this morning," the Colonel finished as he stopped in his tracks.

"Yes. The likelihood that a Hive ship could travel outside the long-range scanners grid in less than a day is..."

"Yeah, I get it." Sheppard couldn't, or wouldn't blame Radek for not being able to locate Teyla straight away. Still, he was starting to wish he had put his foot down when he insisted Teyla bring her own transmitter along. He _hated_ the idea of sending her into that Hive without a backup plan, and sure enough, now it was biting them in the ass. Hard. He looked over at McKay. "Rodney."

McKay had his computer in his hands already and the two scientists joined Sheppard as they climbed the stairs together—Ronon was being pulled away for his minor injuries by Dr. Keller. Woolsey was already waiting for them and Sheppard stopped him before he could say a word.

"I know you want to start debriefing now, Woolsey, but Dr. McKay and Zelenka need to act _now_. Teyla's life depends on this."

Maybe it was the harshness of they way he spoke, the determined 'do not resist' tone he took when saying it, but for once Richard Woolsey didn't push pull back on the leadership tug-of-war. "All right," he said instead, looking grim. "But I expect full reports from each member of your team—_all_ of them, when this is through. Also, you and I are going to discuss the mission now. Briefing room in five, Colonel."

That gave Sheppard enough time to get back to Rodney and Zelenka, who were working furiously side-by-side. With minimal chatter. That alone was unsettling, because when those two worked together without arguing it meant the situation had to be serious. Which it was. "Come on guys, keep me up to speed."

"Colonel, it's hard enough trying to pinpoint the last known location of dead or dying subspace transmitter down to a reasonable margin of error within oh, say _fifty_ million square kilometers without your constant nagging," Rodney snapped at him. He hadn't taken his eyes off the screen he was working on or his fingers off the console. He added, muttering pessimistically, "Even if we do find it, it's not like it's going to give us any clue as to where to start looking."

"No, but we know Todd disabled it _after_ they jumped away. Their ship is damaged. They won't be able to jump again for a while."

"That's assuming he _did_ disable it after they jumped. We don't know how long they were in hyperspace! Or how badly their ship was damaged. He could have disabled it while they were jumping! And by the way, if he did, then not only is it going to be next to impossible to find the last known location, but it will also be completely and utterly _useless_ to us."

Sheppard didn't bite back. It was pointless to bother. One, because Rodney was mostly right. Todd was in serious trouble and the only way out of it for him was Teyla, the 'Queen' of now destroyed Hive of buddies. There was now way in hell he'd let them track them down this easily when it meant his cover would be blown.

And two, because finding Teyla was just the first step. It was practically a footnote in the book of rescuing a lost teammate.

"Fine," he sighed. His voice felt raspy for some reason. "Radek, can you get your people working on an analysis of the Hive's damage? I don't think we had time for a full scan, but—"

"It is already being done," the Czech scientist assured him, offering the weakest flash of a smile he could over his shoulder. "We will find her, Colonel."

He could feel a dozen eyes staring at him, expecting him to do just that, wondering what his next move would be, and Sheppard found himself wondering if finding her would be enough.

* * *

><p>Guide had learned from his recent dealings with his human 'allies' a great deal about human females that he almost wished he could forget. It was rare to find two human females who were even remotely alike. Not only in appearance, but the manner in which they behaved varied to an extreme most irritating. For Dr. Keller's naive, deer-like antics to Dr. Weir's poised, remarkably unshakable bearing. This human unpredictability was what made Atlantis so very dangerous, and yet so very useful.<p>

Another important lesson to bear in mind was their hierarchy. There was so very many females, but their Queens were few. They had blade and clevermen plenty, but they also had...the extras. Classes of humans who had no clear reason to exist. A blade was a blade, meant to defend his queen in the name of his honor and rank. Clevermen like himself were meant to lead by example, create and dismantle. The cloned drones were their first battery of defense, and the reason Wraith had prevailed over Lanteans ten thousand years ago.

Farmers. Craftsmen. Priests. Children. Merchants. Politicians.

The Young Queen had assimilated to his new round of instructions with a great deal of impatience. She had snapped at him on more than one occasion, once threatening to summon other blades to remove him from _her_ presence. There was no questioning who was in charge and she knew very well the extent of her power over him. Despite this, she had ceased trying to sense his thoughts since the time of his—former—Hive's demise. This in itself was a purely human reaction. He would have to make her see reason.

When he returned to the queen's chambers, he brought with him a parcel swaddled in cloth. He was not particularly surprised to find her pacing the length of the room. Good. She was doubting herself, her decision to remain on board. It would do well to have her reminded that reckless decisions had adverse results.

"The ship's repairs are proceeding well," he informed her as he stood in the center of the chamber to watch her move. "Are you hungry?"

Teyla whirled on him with a flash of incredibly anger; clearly, she thought his question was some fashion of jest about her appearance as a Wraith Queen. He mad a disgruntled sound. "There is on board this ship an ample supply of preserved human foods. It is not so unusual for a Queen to send for one of the more pleasing delicacies. Female Wraith are raised on human food, and they acquire a...taste for such things."

It had been nearly a full day since she last ate, and her hunger was no doubt strong. It would be greedy hunger, of course, as the body craves the food it is accustomed to daily. True hunger would not set in for some many days. Still, she stared him down defiantly and made no move to take parcel from him.

"Leave it," she stated flatly, instead.

With no more drive to take offense from her actions, he tilted his head. "As you wish," he replied and turned to leave. After a few paced, he slowly turned back. "This Hive ship's crew is growing restless," he reported and made his impatience clear in his voice. "The recent string of events has led them to believe that you are too young a Queen to guide this alliance. There has been talk of the end of the alliance, and returning to the old ways. We must summon the heads of each faction to your presence and make no more delay of it." His eyes flickered over her, grudgingly. "I suggest you eat and increase your strength. You will need it."

The doors to the chamber hissed closed behind him as the Young Queen lashed a wave of mental wrath in his wake. Despite his sorrow, Guide chuckled dryly at her foolishness and walked down the dark corridor.

* * *

><p>TBC<p> 


	3. Segregation

_**Monarchy**_

-o-_  
><em>

AN: The Wraith are growing on me. So is the relationship between Teyla and Todd, though at this point I have no idea what the relationship will ultimately be. By the way, thanks for the continued feedback. I hope this very very late update hasn't turned anyone off of this gripping tale.

Okay. Moving on...

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><p><em>Chapter Three: Segregation <em>

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><p><em>Teyla<em>

Teyla ate the cold bread and dried fruit that had been left for her, but the halfway meal did very little to help her over the next few days.

She had no choice but to interact with Todd whenever there was an audience with another member of the Hive's crew. Despite her increasing contempt for his patronizing, cold, indifferent approach to her extended stay, it became very clear that there was much to Wraith that she had yet to learn. For that much, she was grateful that she had at least one 'ally' aboard the ship whose life depended on her acting skills. It meant he was obligated to speak to her truthfully, otherwise risk a catastrophic mistake.

In the next twelve hours, she had begrudgingly learned the names of the chief cleverman and the blade commander, Graven and Halfarrow. As they addressed Todd as 'Commander' and nothing else, she did not learn anything about his own title or name, though she had convinced herself she did not care. Both the scientist and Wraith warrior bowed, pledged their loyalty to her, the new Primary Queen, and left quickly enough to make it clear that the pledges were superficial and not based on trust.

"You are closing yourself to them," Todd observed gravely, as soon as the door had sealed behind them. Teyla clutched the arms of the Queen's throne instinctively. "A Queen must never relent when it comes to controlling her subjects," he added, lightly tapping his right temple with a long nail.

"A Queen should not have to rely on such things to earn trust," she replied through her teeth. Her mouth and gums were aching, she found. The surgical changes Dr. Keller had made were never intended to be long-lasting. How long before her disguise failed or began to affect her health?

"You preach your wisdom with such vanity, but yet you know nothing about Wraith culture. A human with Wraith DNA as...potent as yours has the potential to influence an entire Hive's network. Even now, I can sense your childish resistance as I check the boundaries of your mind."

"Then get used to it. Do not presume that because I play a Queen, I will gladly be a Wraith." She fixed a steely gaze on him and stood up quickly. As she did, a stab of pain in her temples struck so hard and suddenly that she fell back onto the throne with a silent gasp.

Todd gazed down at her and asked with no measure of compassion, "What is it?"

"Do not think for a moment—" Her harsh retort was cut off by another stab of pain, making her double over on the seat. In the bleak shadows of her mind, she felt him gazing at her, peering through the cracks of her mental shields. Forcing those cracks to close again was about as agonizing as breaking the burnt, oozing skin of a fresh burn.

She heard him growl audibly, and the presence became like a monster. "_No_! You are are reacting like prey. Why do you insist on betraying your weakness so easily? Open your mind!"

If she had the stength to add to willpower, she would have done just the opposite. However, the tighter she closed those mental shields, the worse it became. Like an explosion of breath after coming up for air, Teyla dropped her defenses significantly—but only enough to accommodate the closest Wraith mind.

Todd's.

And just as abruptly as it came, the pain ceased. There was a gnarled, tense expression on the old Wraith's face, as though he had learned something that shook the foundation his ten thousand years of experience.

Teyla stared at him with challenge in her gaze, panting slightly from aftershocks of the gripping pain. Like a barrier of ice, she felt her mind seal itself shut again, and the silence between them wore on uncomfortably.

Finally, he sighed.

"It will only be a matter of days before the other alliance ships arrive," he said unexpectedly, as though the incident had never happened. His pale green eyes bored into her. "This is yet another sign of weakness, Teyla. The other queens will sense that you do not command your Hive as a true Queen should."

"As far as they are concerned, I am their Primary. I will _demand _their allegiance and they will obey far as _you_ are concerned," she seethed, fueled by the backlash of unexplainable pain in her head. "You are wearing my patience thin. Do _not_ make me test the limits of my authority over this ship, Commander."

'Commander' was voiced with same mocking tone of voice he used when he referred to her as 'my Queen'.

_Todd_

She was angry. It hardly surprised him, guided by the knowledge she'd slammed into his mind like a stone tablet just moments before. Under the surface, it all made him rather amused. The Young Queen had a temper to match some of the longest-living Queens he had known in his lifetime. He had a vague suspicion that when the other ships arrived, desperation would lead her to discover that her 'unique gift' would cast a spell on the other weak-willed Queens. Was it irony, or something more?

For the next four days at least, assimilating her to the customs of the ship and establishing himself as Crush's replacement would be quite the challenge. She was simply too human to accomplish anything other than a superficial performance. Strong spirited, Wraith-like enough to play a part...but not Wraith. His doubts about her were resurfacing again.

Perhaps he too, was desperate.

A very human expression of trepidation was spoiling the Young Queen's face right now, in fact. "You are still in pain," he observed.

"This is...the longest I have ever been on board a Hive ship," she hissed. Her fingernails scratched into the hard veneer of the throne. "What is wrong with me?"

After a long moment, he replied, "I have a theory."

"Tell me!"

He scowled at her. Any return was interrupted when an alarming message from the control room entered his mind. "There is no time for this," he said. "No. Another Hive ship has just dropped out of hyperspace nearby and is arming its weapons for battle."

"What? How can anyone know we are even here?" she demanded, with just an edge of hysteria. This was too much for him.

The loss of his Hive Ship, his comrades, his command and his home all rushed down on him at once, and her constant betraying weakness sparked something cold deep inside. Baring his teeth, Guide whirled on the throne and lunged at her, pinning her neck back with one forearm. For a second time, he seethed within inches of her deceitfully and frustratingly alluring face. "Perhaps you would remember, _my Queen_, that our continued civility towards one another is no longer driven by any motivation other than my strength and will to survive. If you will not command, then you will serve—I suggest you choose quickly!"

He had expected a frail, angry lashing of words, or another threat oozing her vanity, but he did _not_ expect the mental wave that struck him then. The Young Queen hissed at him and _surged_, both in body and mind, breaking down the telepathic wall she had built around herself and bowling him over. So strong was the will that pierced his mind, a once-powerful Guide staggered backwards and nearly succumbed to the unspoken, unconscious command of _Kneel_.

Then she had flashed past him, either unaware of what she had done, or uncaring. His protege stormed out of the throne room, leaving the old Wraith stunned and apprehensive at the side of the throne.

Only the urgency of the clevermen at the helm, each battering his mind with their impatient request for his presence like whispers following a massive storm, broke him out of the stupor. He followed the human Queen out into the hallways,

_Teyla_

Teyla had been on board too many Hive Ships in her time, because she knew the way to the control center. She had not shielded herself completely, either, so that she could follow the 'scent' of Wraith thoughts that were entirely too pungent to bear. She couldn't afford the smallest chance of getting lost on her way to the ship's nerve center. It would not only scream ineptitude, but arouse suspicions she would rather keep dormant.

A collective of four, black-clad Wraith engineers looked up at her entrance. This was not the first such appearance of their 'new Queen' in this fashion, so they responded with impartial reverence instead of surprise. The apparent leader of the group, the one she recognized as Graven, bowed deeply before her.

"You honor us with your presence, my Queen," he said breezily. "The Queen of the hostile ship is demanding to speak to you directly. She will not answer to anyone else."

Teyla drew herself up fiercely, exerting a slight pressure on the engineer's mind. Why she did this, she couldn't fathom—not in the moment—though it somehow felt as if it would be necessary. "If that is true, then why am I still standing here, speaking to the likes of you?" she hissed.

She was entirely aware of Todd, who entered the control center briskly, and just in time to witness the screen in the middle of the chamber flicker on.

A long, slender face bathed in greyish-green skin and topped with a knot of blood-red hair appeared. Her thin lips drew back in a sultry snarl that was at the same time, pleased, when she saw the rival 'Queen' standing before her.

"I was beginning to suspect you were a fantasy," she spoke slitheringly, the crystal-like yellow eyes taking in Teyla's stance and attire. "My, such a young Queen for a Hive this ancient. My instincts, it seems, were resplendently correct."

"I am already tired of this exchange," Teyla snapped in return. Even at such a long distance, the presence of the old queen's mind snaking towards her own repulsed her. "If there is a reason you have chosen to act aggressively towards me, explain yourself. I have no time for games."

"Do not take me for a fool," rattled the Queen. "Considering the extent of your damage, time is certainly the _only_ thing you have. You are in no position to speak down to me, insubordinate husk!"

"My Queen," came the low voice of a Wraith she did not recognize, just behind her ear. One of the engineers—not Todd. "This Queen is allied with the Hive ship responsible for destroying your birthship. If you would grant us permission to-"

Teyla didn't wait, and whirled on the 'upstart' male Wraith, lashing out with her clawed hand at the same time. Silently, she thanked Dr. Keller's professionalism, because the ugly, gnarled implants were sharp and did not break off as they impacted his cheek. Stripes of fresh black blood were his reward.

"I am your _Queen_," she seethed. "I will give you the order to attack when I see fit, and I will not hesitate to _personally_ cut out your tongue for your insolence!"

"Yes, my Queen," said the lanky engineer with a wheeze, and retreated. This time, the reverent title passed from his lips with a great deal of authenticity.

_Well_, she thought to herself with a deep mental sigh. One Wraith convinced of her claim to the throne. That left nearly three hundred thousand more to go.

That thought momentarily froze her mind. Three hundred thousand Wraith—that was information she had no idea she possessed. How?

"You can rest easy," the Queen on the viewscreen interrupted her thoughts. "I have no intentions of doing more than baring my teeth, wetling. Retribution for retribution for retribution—it is a tradition for which I have no appetite. I have come merely to extend my greatest condolences for the loss of your birthship. Also..."

The expression on the old Queen's face curled into something wicked and enticing.

"Well," she continued. "Perhaps my ulterior motives can wait. For now, you may lick your wounds and regain the strength you have sacrificed so much to gain."

With a whirl of grotesque colours, the screen shut off.

Teyla didn't have to feign her outrage then.

"The other Hive ship has entered hyperspace," one of the Wraith engineers announced with evident disdain.

Inhaling sharply, Teyla turned on her heel to face the judging gazes of a half dozen male Wraith, feelings of trepidation crawling into her skin like so many microscopic bugs. "If you have time to gawk at your Queen, then you have time to redouble your efforts on repairing this ship!" she hissed. "Get back to work immediately!"

She did not even wait to see how they would react—she did not care, to be precise. There was a horrible, gut-twisting sensation taking hold inside her body, and the last thing she needed was to break down in agony in front of Wraith who already believed she was an unfitting replacement Queen. Teyla stormed out of the control center.

"That was an acceptable performance," Todd's gravely voice followed her, as soon as they were well out of earshot of other Wraith.

"I am not in the mood to duel with with you," she shot back, quickening her pace. "I will only be here as long as it takes to convince this 'alliance' to take Dr. Beckett's retrovirus. Or have you forgotten that my goals and yours do not entirely align to the same principles?"

She turned on him to make that point, and was mildly startled when she was met by a sharp-toothed grin. This particular expression was not uncommon for Todd, yet it went against the nature she expected of Wraith so entirely that she never expected it.

"The pain is still there," he repeated his statement from earlier. It was darker this time. "The other queen sensed it from you. Perhaps she does not know the source of that pain, but I believe she is maneuvering herself to take advantage of that weakness, and gain your trust."

"Why would she do that?"

"I don't know," he said a little distractedly, as if his mind were wrapped around another point entirely. "I am somewhat more concerned about the source of the pain you are feeling. I was half-expecting this, but it should not be happening so soon."

Teyla's eyes widened, a reaction she could not control even if she weren't half occupied by the spreading aches throughout her body. Dr. Keller had warned her before the surgery that the 'enhancements' were not intended to be long-term, and that there was a chance they could jeopardize her health over the long term...

"The surgical alterations—"

"Are not the cause," he interrupted smoothly. "As I overlooked the entire procedure, I can assure you, that is the last thing you should be worried about, Teyla."

A cold knot formed at the center of the nausea and pain as he used her name. The single corridor they stood in, the pillars that formed the curved, concave walls and supports seemed to be growing, while the space felt smaller and smaller.

Without warning, she felt a brand new seizure of agony unlike any she had felt before, not even during her labour pains with Torren. Like a knife ripping through her abdomen, it ripped a guttural cry from her lips before causing her to collapse against the rubbery, unsympathetic wall.

Suddenly, Todd felt close. Very close—in fact, close enough that his presence was overlapping her mind, giving her overwhelming double-vision. She saw herself, folded over and gaping silently, while overlaying that image she witnessed the ground circling around her. She felt his hands grasp her wrists and experienced that same sensation as though _she_ were the one gripping them. Todd pulled on her and made her stand, while she writhed and tried to break his hold.

"What did you...do to me?" she gasped—would have yelled, but her lungs were being squeezed by the spasms rippling through her chest. "What have you done?"

"There is nothing that can be done, nor is it something I did," he replied, his voice filling her ears as well as her head."It is the Wraith DNA responding to the call of a Hive ship without a Queen. No, I cannot stop this, but I will agree to help you control it. If you cease fighting my attempts to aid you, I will even teach you to dull this pain."

This did not even have the taste of betrayal; for betrayal, one had to _trust_ someone, and the revelation that her sole Wraith ally was manipulating her fear and emotions came as no surprise. Every fiber of her body screamed in frustration, but Todd held the rule book, the board and all the pieces needed to play this chess game.

Except for the queen. That was hers.

With clenched teeth, she pushed back the abdominal pain and stood up straight.

"Tell me what to do."

* * *

><p>TBC<p> 


	4. Struggle

_**Monarchy**_

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> You know, five months is not the longest I've ever gone without updating. The record for that is 3 years, on a very old story. And that was 3 years ago. I think I've been on this site for far too long. Also, I've been having issues with my eyes-thankfully, writing is one of the few things I can do without even looking at the screen.

On topic...some people crave this to bloom into a romance, others swear they'll shank me if I turn this into a romance. I've no idea what I'm going to do. I'm just the middle man. Woman. False authority figure. I guess we'll see what happens.

Anyway, provided there's still enough readers out there who want this story continued, I'll continue—if not, I'll have to focus on one of my other many incomplete stories. Whatever's in highest demand. Like candy. Only...flavoured with the bitterness of isolation and rejection of the human ego. It's my mission to get them all completed, I just chose this one-you know what? You don't care about this. Go read!

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><p><em>Chapter Four: Struggle<em>

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><p>The scientific mind of Guide was intrigued. The survivalist in him was irked, perhaps even enroaching on outraged. It was a peculiar combination of unwanted, distracting emotions. This strange fascination twisted around enough inner tension to make him scowl and sigh and above all else, it baffled him.<p>

Humans with Wraith DNA were rare in this age. That rarity increased by a tenfold when it came to females, as the dormant, Wraith genetic material had a tendency to target the inferior neural pathways that a Queen would develop through her adolesence. Most 'altered' female humans lost the mental capacity to function in their society before they were old enough to mate. Many who lived into their breeding stage died of rapid neural decay. Among many reasons, this was why he had found Teyla Emmagen's existence so mesmerizing. Not just existence, but _excellence_ in the face of insurmountable odds.

_"Tell me what to do."_

_ "Rest,"_ he had told her.

That was long after he painstakingly coashed her on how to block the pain; he did, no matter how she snapped at him, and he did not relent until she could safely control herself without his instruction. It was not out of sympathy for her plight, but necessity. He could not risk a display of weakness when dealing with other Queens. The second stage of the plan was, of course, to sever any lingering connections to other Wraith on the Hive ship. Then, and only then, was she allowed to retire to the Queen's chambers and collapse, where he suspected she would remain in deep slumber for countless hours.

Guide strolled across the chambers like a shadow, scrutinizing the form on the scarlet satin covers. Females had their particulars fancies; human food, human clothing styles, bedding—the former Queen of this ship had evidently not been an exception.

After regarding Young Queen for a time, he sat down on the bench specifically designed for attendees. Ignoring the sleeping female, he withdrew further into his mind to puzzle out these newfound complications.

He had not ruled out the possibility that the process would kill her. In that event, he expected control of the ship would fall to him—but not the alliance. Especially now that the old, slippery Queen Carnage was taking an interest in Teyla. Her arrival and immediate departure was a breed of unsympathetic foreplay—she did not know yet whether she wanted to kill Teyla, or assimilate her into her choking rule. More than likely, Carnage merely wanted to toy with her food before consuming them all whole.

In any case, he would have to pay homage to the old Queen, and perhaps his age and long-term standing with Steelflower would keep him alive. If Teyla died now, Carnage would most certainly smell a plot, and she had a well founded reputation for squashing threats before they had a chance to blister.

This ship had no Queen. This was an irrefutable fact. One half of a desperate symbiosis was missing. He did not care for its suffering; a Hive operated just as well without a Queen to communicate with its barely audible brain functions—this he had proved in the absence of his late Steelflower. The fact remained that the Hive would instinctively latch on to the nearest, unbound female Wraith and 'adopt' her as its monarch, whether or not that female possessed the genetic strength to sustain the hive. The ship cared not if the female died in the process; it was programmed to consume as many females as it was offered until the right match was found.

Of course, with no other female Wraith within many lightyears, it had instead began to assimilate the nearest thing to a female it could find.

The Young 'Queen', Teyla Emmagen.

Who was not Wraith, but soon would be.

Guide surged to his feet and growled his mounting frustration. He whirled around and began to pace. Now he was at an impass, abandoned with no strategy and outnumbered by impossible odds. Science had truend its back on him. Within weeks, perhaps months, the human Queen would become a gross infestation of her own genetic abomination, and what was he to advise her then? There was nothing that could be done. Assuming she survived, she would either perish of starvation, or attempt an escape.

And yes. Sheppard would disembowel him at their next chance meeting. It would be 'Todd's fault, no matter the logical circumstances that broke their agreement. Well, this certainly made an issue of things. His tentative alliance with the humans was over.

Guide stopped pacing and grimaced at that thought. No matter what may come in these next few days, he simply could not tell her the truth about her painful metamorphisis. Even if it _were_ successful—the likelihood that this forced mutation would succeed without extensively damaging her both physiologically and psychologically was grim indeed—then he would still not have a Queen. He would have a human trapped in the body of a Wraith.

Unless...

Unless by some great miracle of the universe, the spread of Wraith DNA left her dry of her old memories. The process was all too much like Dr. Beckett's retrovirus in the form of a mutated genome. It was a possibility. And if he had a Queen who could not remember a lifetime of weak, ethical dilemmas, then he could mold and shape her into any kind of ruling figurehead he could imagine. Young Queens were always susceptible to such manipulation.

Guide snorted; no, this 'possibility' was just too ideal. The universe was too bitter to bask him in that much fortune. He would have to make due with partially resolved, pointless arguments and marginal rhetoric. Eventually, she would listen to him. He had convinced vast armies to fall under the command of his first Queen, long ago, against all odds.

No matter how proud, how obstinate this one female human was, she would not stop him from seeing his ambitions come to fruition.

* * *

><p>-.-.-<p>

Teyla had dreams. Her mind was a floating vessel of one meaningless vision after another, flashing through her eyes like an action movie, only a thousand times faster. It was as though a million books of ancient history were being deposited into her brain, and she had little choice but to accept it lest it drive her mad in her painful, unconscious state. When she tried to refuse, the driving force outside her mind attacked her mental barriers with painful ferocity. So she merely took it in, until she could no longer think for herself.

Then, it stopped. The feeling after that was akin to being awake, but dead at the same time. There were hot knives in her arm, blood pouring out of her body like a river in the flood season. Bright light punctured her eyes, splayed dots over her now recovering vision, and made her mouth taste like acidic dust.

A voice in her mind pulled her closer to living. It was Todd's.

_You are lucky to be alive, Teyla Emmagen. A hive ship knows no morality, has absolutely no pity for the weak and does not fear the possibility of failure. _

If he expected an answer, he would have to live with his disappointment, because Teyla could no more form a coherent sentence with her blind-fire headache than she could fly.

_I assume by the reemergence of your rather tactless wit, you are finally ready to reawaken to reality? I will warn you, Teyla...when you open your eyes, this will be a kind of reality you will struggle to allow._

Something—not fear, but similar—sunk to her heart as she could clearly sense the caution used in that telepathic 'voice'. The desire to be fully awake seized her with the stength of an electric pulse, and in one swift movement, Teyla shot forward and sat up in a reckless outburst of emotion, clawed hand reached out to seize the throat of the old Wraith.

"I can't _see_!" she hissed.

She could feel him swallow underneath her sensitive—too sensitive!—hand, the muscles flexing and bobbing through the action. But she could not see his face, only smell him, his pungent stench, and sense his arrogant mind like an open flame mocking a moth. "Why?" she demanded harshly. "What have you done to me!?"

She may as well have exhanged words with a hot coal.. Her nerves felt raw, enflamed and burnt. When she instinctively lashed out to coerce him to obey, it was only then she realized her faint connections with the rest of the Hive were cut off. The only Wraith presence she could fee right now was Todd, and...

Her own.

"No."

"Ah, you sense it now," he said, and she felt the slithery vocal chords word under her hand. "You may wish to deny this no doubt shocking revelation, but rest assured, this _is_ the truth in its purest form. Your grip is pathetic. Your body shakes like a leaf on a frail stem. But your mind doesn't lie."

Teyla's hand squeezed. She realized that her fingers felt stunted; the weight of half of her claws were missing, and the tips felt wet and raw. Her teeth ached, and they felt overgrown, and her hair was wet and matted. There was no time to let it sink in, as a wave of exhaustion cause her fingers to lax and her arm to drop again. She could only just croak, "I am not..._Wraith_..."

"I agree. You are not Wraith," he said, and his 'presence' stood up. She 'felt' him pace to the end of what she suspected was the bed in the Queen's chambers. "Then again, you have changed too much in the past few days to be considered human. I'm afraid that at this point, you are nothing but a rather intriguing example of viral evolution."

"Then I am a monster," she growled, as the ever-growing nausea crept from her stomach into her mouth, giving her a bitter taste of bile and disbelief. "John was right. I should have fled along with them when I had the chance. I should have left you here to die without your precious _Queen_!"

It was not her ferocity or hatred that stung Guide with a bolt of surprise. It was the words and their meaning. "You...were given the chance to escape, and you did not take it?"

He asked this question with firm, flat reluctance.

"And I the fool for not abandoning this pointless cause," she heaved back at him. He observed her clammy, grey skin positively glistening under he ebony hair, her face twisted into the embodiment of defiance and despair. "My desire to complete the mission blinded me, and now I am blind, and I will _die_ before I relinquish my humanity."

"Your humanity is what weakens you," he replied tersely. "You realize there is no going back, Teyla Emmagen. I am..." He sighed, a rattling sound that reeked of fatigue. "...not entirely without compassion. In the event you are killed by this unstoppable transformation, I will refrain from telling John Sheppard the truth."

Pulling her lips back in yet another wild expression of defiance, she informed him vehemently of where he could forcefully 'shove' the truth.

It was then her clouded yellow eyes rolled back into her head, and the ailing human Queen fell back on to the dank mattress. For a long moment, Guide considered her minutely writhing form, trying and failing to not dwell on her words.

He was particularly not affected by the knowledge that she had _willingly_ forgone a safe retreat in lieu of a continued alliance. This was trivial. Nothing.

Shedding that last, bitter thought, Guide whirled away from the frustrating Young Queen's bed and made a hasty exit to the chamber doors. He checked and set the entry code to the door to respond _only_ to his DNA, then proceeded outside of the throne room and into the misty corridor, where two brutish guards were silently waiting.

"If anyone should attempt to disturb our Queen, kill them," he instructed. He departed before even stopping to look at them—they were drones, and as such, did not even possess the free will to disobey the command of the Queen's 'consort'.

It was time to put his plan for Queen Carnage into action. He was curious to find out if she possessed even a fraction of the will of the currently malformed, infuriatingly foolish Young Queen.


End file.
